Microsoft calls for legislation on facial recognition

"We need to make sure that 2024 will not look like a 1984 novel page," says Brad Smith. The president of Microsoft fears indeed that the facial recognition transforms the legendary novel of anticipation of George Orwell into reality.

Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, calls to remain particularly vigilant with regard to the democratization of video surveillance systems using facial recognition. Reacting to the deployment of this technology in the vicinity of the White House, he called on the authorities to legislate on the subject, so that a legal framework can "protect passersby" by ensuring respect for their privacy. "From a democratic point of view, it is important that the government is not above the law. We must therefore ensure that the use of facial recognition by the government remains subject to the rule of law. We need new legislation to put us on the right track, "he said.

If Microsoft calls for regulation, the firm basically has nothing against this technology, quite the opposite. She is even one of the world leaders and Brad Smith takes the opportunity to applaud the new opportunities offered by facial recognition. The president of Microsoft takes as an example an application developed in India that, exploiting facial recognition, has allowed the local police to find some 3,000 missing children in just a few days. He said that Microsoft has internally enacted broad principles around justice, transparency, accountability, non-discrimination, information and surveillance, to ensure an ethical and legal approach to facial recognition. Great rules that will come into effect early next year at Microsoft, which invites other giants in the industry to emulate.

For Brad Smith, a law framing facial recognition should primarily address the concerns surrounding three main themes: discrimination, intrusion into privacy and government surveillance. It will be necessary to wait before seeing the legislators to look into the subject.